Safety bolt for window cleaners



Dec. 17', 1935.

c. MALLON El AL. 2,024,738

SAFETY BOLT FOR WINDOW CLEANERS V Filed July 20; 1954 Patented Dec. 17, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Charles Mallon and Harry Malloy, New York, N. Y.

Application July 20, 1934, Serial No. 736,180

6 Claims.

This invention relates to a safety bolt for window cleaners, that is to a supporting device or anchor adapted to be mounted in a building structure and to have a window cleaners safety belt detachably connected thereto,

the present device being an improvement upon the structure shown in Patent No. 1,650,371, issued to Charles Mallon on November 22nd, 1927. An object of the invention is to provide a safety bolt which will be of simple and practical construction and which will be adapted for convenient use with a variety of different shapes of window frame mouldings or staff beads.

A further object is to so construct the safety bolt that its main strain sustaining portion may be readily made of ordinary drawn metal forged to shape.

A further object is to so construct the safety bolt that it will include a head portion formed separate from the main strain sustaining portion or bolt and firmly but detachably connected therewith so as to be interchangeable with other head portions and so as to admit of assembly in different relationships with the bolt.

Other objects and aims of the invention, more or less specific than those referred to above, will be in part obvious and in part pointed out in the course of the following description of the elements, combinations, arrangements of parts and applications of principles constituting the invention; and the scope of protection contemplated will be indicated in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawing which is to be taken as a part of this specification, and in which we have shown merely a preferred form of embodiment of the invention:

Fig. 1 is a side view of a safety bolt constructed in accordance with this invention and showing the same as it appears attached to a Window frame, the window frame being shown in horizontal section.

Fig. 2 is a similar view but showingv the separately formed head of the bolt in a reversed position so as to have an appropriate fit against a staff bead shaped differently from the staff bead shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary detail perspective View illustrating the end portion of the bolt, the separately formed head member being omitted.

Fig. 4 is a detail perspective View of the separately formed head portion detached from the bolt.

Fig. 5 is a rear elevational View of the separately formed head and showing the bolt assembled therewith, being a section on line V-V of Fig. 6.

Figs. 6 and 7 are fragmentary sectional views on line VIVI of Fig. 5, Fig. 7 showing the 60 parts as finally assembled and Fig. 6 showing them as they appear before the final assembling operation, and

Fig. 8v is a perspective view, of a separately formed head portion shaped differently from the head portion in the previous figures and in- 5 tended to be interchangeable therewith.

Referring to the drawing for describing in detail the structure illustrated therein, the reference character L indicates one of the side members of a window frame, a portion of a window 10 sash as i being shown in association therewith.

Through the frame piece L and through adjacent frame parts 2 and 3, and also through the staff bead H, is formed a single straight bore adapted to receive the shank of bolt G. 15

Abutting the outer surface of the window frame is a portion as 5 of masonry or other part of the building structure, the angle between the outer surface of the frame member 3 and the masonry 5 being furnished with the 20 staff bead H.

At the outer end of the bolt is carried the separately formed head 6 for engaging against the outer surface of the staff bead, and at the inner end of the bolt is a nut A threaded upon the bolt 25 and adapted to draw the head 6 firmly against the staff bead when the nut is tightened.

At its outer end the bolt G continues beyond the head 5 and has an auxiliary head 1 at its extreme end. The head I and the portion as 8 30 of the bolt between said head and the head 6 may be given any shape best suited for co-operative use with the attaching part of the window cleaners safety belt. In the instance illustrated the portion 8 is curved laterally and carries the 35 head i slightly at one side of and at an angle to the main longitudinal axis of the bolt, and it may be here noted that in some installations the lateral inclination of the portion 8 is in a direction horizontally away from. the surface of the part 40 5 while in others it may be in a direction toward said surface 5. In still others it may be in a vertical plane either upwardly or downwardly. In still others it may be in any angular direction between the four mentioned. 45

The head 6 must always find a firm and solid engagement with the staff bead regardless of the angular disposition of the portion 8 and of the surface contour of the bead, and by making the head 5 separate from the bolt and attach- 50 able thereto in different positions rotatively of the bolt it follows that any rotative relationship of these parts may be selected when assembling said parts and that thereby the portion 8 may be placed in any desired angular position while at the same time insuring a correct relationship of the head 6 with respect to the staff bead.

In different building structures the staff bead I-I may vary considerably in surface contour. In one building they may have plain flat outer surfaces as illustrated in Fig. 1. In another they may have a convexed outer surface as illustrated in Fig. 2. And in others they may have still a different shape. In attaching to these different beads safety bolts for window cleaners according to the present invention it is simply necessary to select for assembly with the bolt portion G a head 6 which has an under or clamp surface approximating as nearly as possible the surface contour of the' bead against which it is to be clamped by the nut A. V j

A variety of differently shaped heads 6 may be provided for this purpose by the manufacturer ofthe safety 'bolt constituting the present invention.

The different forms of heads 6 are illustrated in the accompanying drawing one being illustr'ated in Figs. 1, 2, 1, and 5, and the other being illustrated in Fig. 8. V

In order to reduce as far as possible the number of differently shaped heads required to be provided by the manufacturer it is a' part of the present invention to provide a special form of head 6 which shall be so shaped on its under or clamp face as to render it capable of fitting with substantially equal efiiciency against staff beads of several different surface contours.

This special form of head is clearly illustrated in thedrawing Fig's'. 1, 2, 4 and 5. It is of the usual oblong contour in general form, and is intended to be placed with its longer dimensionextending lengthwise the bead in the customary manner. Its under or clamp face is cylindrically i concaved as at 9 so as to fit against a cylindrically convexed surface as I of a staif bead such as that illustrated in Fig. 2. At the upper and lower ends of the c'oncaved surface S'end ribs II-II are provided having edge surfaces on a common plane with the surface of alongitudinal 'edge rib I2. When this head is clamped against a convexed staff beadas in Fig. 2 the ribs I I--l I bite into embedded relation within'the material of the staff bead, as indicated at l3 in Fig. 2, thereby allowing the surface 9 to come into desirably close clamp fitting contact with the convexed surface of the bead.

Surrounding the central bolt receiving opena ing I4 is a rib I5 the edge surface of which is also in a common plane with the edge surfaces of the ribs IIand I2, and this rib l5 also bites into embedded relation within the material of the bead when the head 6 is clamped against a convexed staff head as in Fig; 2. I

7 Embedded engagement of ribs II and I5 within the material of the staff bead greatly strengthens and makes more solid the connection of the head 6 with the staff bead, as will be readily appreciated.

At the longitudinal edge of the head 6 opposite to the edge rib I2 the head is made somewhat'thicker than at the edge I2, and is formed witha row of teeth as Iii-I6, the curved surface '9 being rounded into and forming the inner walls of the teeth as clearly illustrated.

The teeth l6 may bite into the material of the staff bead if the surface contour of the staff bead issuchas to require, as indicated at the right in Fig. 2, or theyv may of course simply lie in contact 'withthe surface of the bead, if thesurflat against the surface of the bead, and perhaps bite to a slight extent thereinto.

The teeth l6 the bolt adjacent to masonry 5 as in Fig. 1, or

at the side away from the masonry 5 as in Fig. 2, according as may be most desirable in any given installation. 1O

The manner of detachably connecting the head 6 with the bolt may take any desirable form, but as illustrated it consists in so shaping the bolt that its portion as I! with which the head 6 engages is multi-sided in cross section, as for instance upon the plane of line IV-IV of Fig. 3. In the instance illustrated this portion I! is substantially square in cross section and is of a size to snugly fit within the opening I4 of the head 6 which is of a similar square shape. It may be engaged within the opening l4 in any selected oneof four rotative positions.

If more or less than four different rotative positions of adjustment are desired then the portion I! and the hole I4 would be made with a limit movement of the head 6 outwardly toward the head 1.

At the inner end of the portion I1, longi- V tudinally of the bolt, one or more portions as I9 is provided adapted to be swaged, or burred over, against the adjacent portion of the rib I5 of the head, as indicated at 20 in Fig. '7, for retaining the head against accidental displacement away from the shoulder l8.

While the burs 20 are intended to be of suf- 40 ficient strength to retain the head against accidental movement away from the shoulder I 8, I they are however at the same time sufficiently weak so that the head 5 can be moved away from the shoulder I8, by the application 'of a reasonable amount of force, as by a light hammer blow, whenever it is desired to separate the head from the bolt after having been once assembled, as for instance when it is desired to change the rotative position of the head with respect to the bolt, or to substitute a different head for one previously assembled with the bolt.

In some cases a tight friction fit of the portion I! within the hole I4 may be depended upon 7 in lieu of the burs 20 to hold the head 6 and bolt G assembled.

A safety bolt for window cleaners constructed as disclosed herein consists of parts which may be very easily manufactured at small expense. The bolt portion G, which of course is the main strain sustaining element of the device, may be very properly formed up as a forging of drawn metal or rod stock and is therefore of considerably greater tensile strength than a cast metal member of the same proportions.

The head portion 6 may be either a forging or a casting, and when assembled with the bolt portion in the manner indicated is firmly connected therewith and completes an article of great strength and of entire practicability for its purpose. The bolt portions and the head portions may be assembled as a unit article of manufacture for distribution to the trade or they may be marketed separately as may be found most desirable in practice. The heads may be of different shapes best adapted for use with particular staff beads and any desired shape of head may be assembled with a bolt and in any desired rotary relation to the bolt, as may be dictated by the particular circumstances of the installation concerned, and when the device is assembled and installed it provides an anchor of ample strength for its purpose.

It is noteworthy that the tightening down of the head 6 by nut A will always cause the rib portions of the head 6 to become more or less embedded within the material of the staff bead almost regardless of the surface contour of the bead, and it is particularly noteworthy in this connection that the rib 15 will at such time move into the outer end of the bore 4. It is slightly tapered as indicated so as to more easily enter the bore. And when within the end of the bore it forms a positive filler between the outer surface of the bolt and the adjacent inner surface of the bore thereby centering the bolt within the bore and providing a very firm and rigid joint between the bolt and the walls of the bore, thus adding materially to the strength of the bolt in use.

The bore 4 is usually of a slightly larger diameter than the diameter of the bolt in order to facilitate the easy placement of the bolt within the bore, and the rib l5 thus becomes an important element in producing a tight fit of the bolt within the bore at the outer end of the bolt.

As many changes could be made in this construction without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the following claims, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawing, shall be interpreted as illustrative only and not in a limiting sense.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:-

i. A device of the class described comprising a bolt portion having a head thereon, a clamp nut threaded upon the bolt portion by which to draw the head into operative position, a portion projecting beyond the head to receive the window cleaners usual belt, and the under surface of the head being of channel shape and having transverse ribs at the opposite ends of the channel adapted to bite into the material of the window frame under pull of the clamp member.

2. A device of the class described comprising a bolt portion having a head thereon, a clamp nut threaded upon the bolt portion by which to draw the head into operative position, a portion projecting beyond the head to receive the window cleaners usual belt, and the under surface of the head being of channel shape and having transverse ribs at the opposite ends of the channel adapted to bite into the material of the window frame under pull of the clamp member, said end ribs and at least one longitudinal edge portion of the head having their edge surfaces all lying in a common plane for at once engaging a flat surface portion of the window frame.

3. A device of the class described comprising a bolt portion having a head thereon, a clamp nut threaded upon the bolt portion by which todraw the head into operative position, a portion projecting beyond the head to receive the window cleaners usual belt, and the under surface of the head being of channel shape and having transverse ribs at the opposite ends of the channel adapted to bite into the material of the window frame under pull of the clamp member, at least one longitudinal edge portion of the under surface of the head being shaped to provide a row of teeth extending along said edge and projecting in the general direction of the nut end of the bolt.

4. A device of the class described comprising a bolt portion having a head thereon, a clamp nut threaded upon the bolt portion by which to draw the head into operative position, a portion projecting beyond the head to receive the window cleaners usual belt device, the bolt portion having a shoulder thereon facing the nut end of the bolt, said head portion being a member formed separately from the bolt portion andbeing telescoped onto the bolt portion from the nut end of the bolt portion and abutting against said shoulder and thereby held against movement away from the nut end of the bolt, and the bolt having a part burred against the surface of the head opposite said shoulder to hold the head portion against said shoulder.

5. A device of the class described comprising a bolt portion having a head thereon, a clamp nut threaded upon the bolt portion by which to draw the head into operative position, a portion projecting beyond the head to receive the window cleaners usual belt device, the bolt portion having a shoulder thereon facing the nut end of the bolt, said head portion being a member formed separately from the bolt portion and being telescoped onto the bolt portion from the nut end of the bolt portion and abutting against said shoulder and thereby held against movement away from the nut end of the bolt, the head having a multi-sided opening through which the bolt extends, and the portion of the bolt which engages within said opening when the head is against the shoulder being correspondingly multisided for the purpose set forth.

6. A device of the class described comprising a bolt portion having a head thereon, a clamp nut threaded upon the bolt portion by which to draw the head into operative position, a portion projecting beyond the head to receive the window cleaners usual belt device, the bolt portion having a shoulder thereon facing the nut end of the bolt, the axis of the bolt portion between the clamp nut and the shoulder being substantially straight and the portion which projects beyond the head to receive the window cleaners belt device being curved, the bolt portion having said shoulder thereon between the said straight axis portion and the curved axis portion, said bolt portion being 'multi-sided at said shoulder, said head portion being a member formed separately from the bolt portion and being telescoped onto the bolt portion from the nut end thereof and abutting against said shoulder and thereby held against movement away from the nut end of the bolt, the head having a multi-sided opening through which the bolt extends, the sides of said opening engaging with the multi-sicled portion of the bolt when the said head is against the said shoulder, for thepurpose set forth.

CHARLES MALLON.

HARRY MALLOY. 

